Why does humanity suck so much?

[The Human Torch]

I did a forum search for a topic like this, but it didn't net me the result I wanted, but please forgive me if this gone up before.

The past few months I've been getting extremely frustrated with the EVIL that man does. It's absolutely uncanny. This ranges from rickrolling someone on YouTube, to raping a woman, or to cause a giant massacre at a high-school. You can fill in plenty of other possibilities, from simple trolling to downright murderous behavior. Even though you can't compare rickrolling to a real rape, they do have a thing in common, that is that it does nothing to progress us a species.

No matter what the underlining motivation is (gloating, religious views, superiority issues, abused as a child, corporate greed), it does nothing but harm and the world won't be better for it.

We are filled with such unbridled potential, whether you chose to use that potential to make your partner and family happy or if you want to cure cancer, it's there. There is so much good in us, yet most people completely squander it, waste their time with stupid trolling, horrific acts of mutilation, pollute the environment, fighting in a bar or whatever else you can imagine.

That's not to say that we should always work hard at improving us and the world 24/7, we should definitely take time to enjoy our own lives, but what harm is it if you treat your fellow man with the same respect that you want to receive, to actually do something worthwhile, so that this planet we call Earth won't be a big stinking ball of shit and debris in 100 years.

Whether it's donating money to a cause, to thanking your baker for the bread he just sold you or to not allow your own insecurity to fester and beat the crap out of your wife, why can't we all just get along? And if you don't like someone else, just raise your hands and go another way, instead of fighting it out.

I am honestly not sure why we does this? All these wars and evil deeds may have had a reason in medieval times when superstition and stupidity ruled, but this is the 21st century, we should be more enlightened.
Can anyone provide me with a reason before I finish tearing the hairs out of my head?

All I know now is that I am going to raise my kids to be better than what we are now.

 

[SimuLord]

Why does humanity suck so much? It doesn't. Turn off the computer. The Internet tends to warp the minds and faiths of people who are just waiting to have their own narrow-minded biases confirmed.

Get out there and deal with real people in the real world and you'll find them generally decent, hard working, intelligent, and well worth befriending. But stick to the cesspools of online space and you'll just become a bitter, hateful boil on the ass of society.

And if that's not enough for you, then you are the problem, not the solution. We can't all be Einstein, but we can all be "everyman". And Joe Everyman's a damn fine fellow.

 

[Super Toast]

Feeling a little cynical, are we?

 

[The Human Torch]

Why does humanity suck so much? It doesn't. Turn off the computer. The Internet tends to warp the minds and faiths of people who are just waiting to have their own narrow-minded biases confirmed.

Get out there and deal with real people in the real world and you'll find them generally decent, hard working, intelligent, and well worth befriending. But stick to the cesspools of online space and you'll just become a bitter, hateful boil on the ass of society.

I spend plenty of time in the real world, and even though there are plenty of people who do good, I only have to turn on the news to see that real life people are doing their best to destroy civilization as we know it.

 

[Gigano]

Probably because you're looking in the wrong places.

Evil is entertaining - look at all the crime dramas on TV - because it's rare enough to be novel, and thus gain exposure, whereas plain ol' boring "live and let live" gathers little attention; Despite making up the vast majority of daily deeds.

So yes, turn off the computer and TV go out, and see how many school rape rickrolling massacres you encounter. Probably not that many

[small]But if you do happen to run into one, be sure to post plenty of info about it on the internet. It'll attract readers like nothing else![/small]

 

[Daveman]

As the vast majority of the worlds population DOESN'T murder or rape anybody, I'd say generally we're not evil.

Justifications like "this is the 21st century, we should be more enlightened" is not really valid. We are the only known intelligent life and therefore there's no scale to judge us. We are equally the best and worst race ever.

I say 1) your view of morality is pretty warped if you think rickrolling can be construed as evil (which makes me want to call you out as a troll but I'd rather not) and 2) remember that the 21st centruy gave us total connectivity. It doesn't matter that all this bad stuff is happening, that's nothing new at all, it's just we all now know about it. And that's a good thing. Look what's happening in Egypt, a complete turnaround of country is causing similar knock-on effects in other countries giving them the potential to enter a new era of democracy.

Oh and 3) cheer the fuck up.

 

[SimuLord]

Why does humanity suck so much? It doesn't. Turn off the computer. The Internet tends to warp the minds and faiths of people who are just waiting to have their own narrow-minded biases confirmed.

Get out there and deal with real people in the real world and you'll find them generally decent, hard working, intelligent, and well worth befriending. But stick to the cesspools of online space and you'll just become a bitter, hateful boil on the ass of society.

I spend plenty of time in the real world, and even though there are plenty of people who do good, I only have to turn on the news to see that real life people are doing their best to destroy civilization as we know it.

Ever heard the saying "nobody ever reports about buildings that don't burn down"? The news trafficks in the worst of humanity because the worst of humanity is noteworthy. But if you're basing your judgment of humanity on the worst (and really, who the hell do you think you are judging anyone?), then you're doing it wrong.

I'm not Christian. But the Bible did get one thing right at least, summed up in Matthew 7:1-2:

Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 

[0mn1p0t3ntg6y]

Because people are naturally those annoying little cretins. But it's not their fault. Just cope with it by driving them insane.

 

[Merkavar]

im going to go with the whole humans are imperfect thing. we are greedy, selfish beings and that has benefited us for millions of years. we look after our own and thats it. so if people have the choice to donate to a charity or buy something to make themselves or their families happy they will generally pick that.

Ofcourse people still donate money to charities but that i think is still a selfish act cause it makes the individual feel good after donating 5-20 dollars.

 

[Nexus4]

Yes humans are scum, so? Deal with it, the world is an unforgiving place and no one will give two shits about people who criticise them for that. My advice is simple, find something you like; whether it be a hobby, someone you love or spending time with your family, whatever. Point is: find your refuge, humans are evil, so find the goodness in the world that will satisfy you.

 

[RicoGrey]

Oh please please please don't beat your wife, oh please oh please oh please don't rape that woman. Some people are going to do these things for various reasons, and saying that these actions are bad are fully understood by most of the perpetrators.

Understand this, the modern era is the SINGLE MOST PEACEFUL TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY. There is less war, there is less violence, there is less sexual assault, and there is less crime than there EVER HAS BEEN EVER. There is more wealth, more food, more medicine, more education, and more opportunities for more people than ever before.

Not joking either. It may seem different because we have it blasted across the news all the time, but humanity is working towards a brighter future. We are being successful in working towards a brighter future.

Rickrolling? Laughed myself silly the first time it happened, and a few times out of the 20 or so times it has happened to me since. Trolling is here to stay, you can try to fight, and you might have some positive affect so feel free to try, but it isn't going away.

Some parts of the world suck, and some parts of the good areas suck, but overall things are looking up.

So, cheer up bucko, things are gonna be O.K.

 

[The Human Torch]

Why does humanity suck so much? It doesn't. Turn off the computer. The Internet tends to warp the minds and faiths of people who are just waiting to have their own narrow-minded biases confirmed.

Get out there and deal with real people in the real world and you'll find them generally decent, hard working, intelligent, and well worth befriending. But stick to the cesspools of online space and you'll just become a bitter, hateful boil on the ass of society.

I spend plenty of time in the real world, and even though there are plenty of people who do good, I only have to turn on the news to see that real life people are doing their best to destroy civilization as we know it.

Ever heard the saying "nobody ever reports about buildings that don't burn down"? The news trafficks in the worst of humanity because the worst of humanity is noteworthy. But if you're basing your judgment of humanity on the worst (and really, who the hell do you think you are judging anyone?), then you're doing it wrong.

I'm not Christian. But the Bible did get one thing right at least, summed up in Matthew 7:1-2:

Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

The bible is probably the worst source ever for morals, everyone always judges everyone. You accuse me of judging humanity, yet the post you made judges me, so it's all one big judgement farce.
I attach no value to the "ye shall be judged" quote from the bible, heck, my JOB involves judging people on their performances.

I am perfectly aware of the 'bad news is good news' principle, but I am just flabbergasted as to why we are not trying harder to be better.

 

[The Human Torch]

Oh please please please don't beat your wife, oh please oh please oh please don't rape that woman. Some people are going to do these things for various reasons, and saying that these actions are bad are fully understood by most of the perpetrators.

Understand this, the modern era is the SINGLE MOST PEACEFUL TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY. There is less war, there is less violence, there is less sexual assault, and there is less crime than there EVER HAS BEEN EVER. There is more wealth, more food, more medicine, more education, and more opportunities for more people than ever before.

Not joking either. It may seem different because we have it blasted across the news all the time, but humanity is working towards a brighter future. We are being successful in working towards a brighter future.

Rickrolling? Laughed myself silly the first time it happened, and a few times out of the 20 or so times it has happened to me since. Trolling is here to stay, you can try to fight, and you might have some positive affect so feel free to try, but it isn't going away.

Some parts of the world suck, and some parts of the good areas suck, but overall things are looking up.

So, cheer up bucko, things are gonna be O.K.

You are right, we are in a much better place than we have been for millions of years, I am just frustrated that we aren't trying harder. We are far too prosperous for our own good. With all the potential there is, it's being squandered by quite a few, and hindered by others.

 

[Eisenfaust]

i would argue that rickrolling helps the species by reducing gullibility, and i would also argue that rape helps the species by helping us catch rapists... the "bad" people you see in the news are just a minority who have been attributed a majority of news coverage


beyond this, and more importantly is a fairly simple concept... you need the bad so you can appreciate the good... you need the rickrollers and the rapists around to see that the person standing 3 feet away from you is actually great (relatively speaking)... life needs to be a little shit so that when something good comes along, it's FANTASTIC... if everything was all good all the time, it'd get boring, and we'd quickly rebrand "good" as "normal", and so on until you get put in prison for littering... be glad that the world sucks sometimes

 

[SimuLord]

Wow. I'm not even going to bother to quote that. Some people really show off the kind of people they are by how they regard the rest of humanity. And it's not worth the mod wrath to voice my true opinion at this point.

 

[The Human Torch]

i would argue that rickrolling helps the species by reducing gullibility, and i would also argue that rape helps the species by helping us catch rapists... the "bad" people you see in the news are just a minority who have been attributed a majority of news coverage


beyond this, and more importantly is a fairly simple concept... you need the bad so you can appreciate the good... you need the rickrollers and the rapists around to see that the person standing 3 feet away from you is actually great (relatively speaking)... life needs to be a little shit so that when something good comes along, it's FANTASTIC... if everything was all good all the time, it'd get boring, and we'd quickly rebrand "good" as "normal", and so on until you get put in prison for littering... be glad that the world sucks sometimes

Not all that reassuring to have this coming from someone who has Mr. Sinister as an avatar, but I see your point.

 

[Woodsey]

It doesn't.

What I want to know is why every young teen on the internet thinks that it's actually true.

 

[spacewalker]

Some can be atritributed to competitivness, the belief that you need win over others in order to be tougth of as sucsessful.
Some can be because of a poorly designed social structure, human behaviour is a result of the environment they grow up in. People are not evil, they are just acting based on how they have been raised to act, not nessicerily intentionally.

The reasoning for a lot of the more horrifying acts can often be the result of desperation in one form or another, need for food ,water, drugs, or believing that your life have no value.

did you ever see the zeitgeist movies? i felt some of them had several interesting points on this subject.

also, enjoying oneself and making the world a better place does not have to be mutually exclusive

 

[The Human Torch]

Wow. I'm not even going to bother to quote that. Some people really show off the kind of people they are by how they regard the rest of humanity. And it's not worth the mod wrath to voice my true opinion at this point.

I am just looking for answers, opinions and ideas, since I was thinking hard about this and came up with no answers myself. I am sorry if me not agreeing with your opinion pisses you off, it wasn't my intention to insult, I just gave you my honest view on it. Perhaps I should reword the title of this thread to: "Why does part of humanity suck so much?"

And also (this is odd coming from me), lighten up.

 

[DeleteThisAcc]

Look at evolution - sharper teeth, being bigger than anyone else, intelligence .... improves you chances of survival. Who is at the top of all creatures of this world? HUMANS! Where do we waste our aggression / evil that was needed to get at the top? On everyone / everything around us. It's normal.

Oh an all that "...turn off your computer and go outside to see real world..." do it and unless it's you who is biggest / strongest you won't be beaten up / raped / robed / killed (I am only half serious in that sentence, it's just annoying how some people claims that everyone is good and nice, and there should be no capital punishment... apparently I was around real people more ).

Seriously speaking humans are evil inside, else we won't survive (well we would survive but it's in our blood from past, we are just animals, remember?)

Oh, and stop watching news, they like to make elephant out of fly. And they have a lot of flies.